Fire-alarm.



a sums-sum z.

Ill"

Patented Feb. 9, 1909. i

V KALL FIRE ALARM APPLIOATION FILE v. KALL,

FIRE ALARM. APPLICATION nun JULY 6, 190a. Y 91 1,730, Patented Feb. 9, 1909.

a sums-sum a.

which the VERNER KALQOF ROCKFORD, I-LLINQIS.

FiRE-ALARM.

To,aZZ whom itmag concern: a Be it known that I, VERNER KALL,-2 L subject of the Kingof Sweden, residing at Rock.-- ford, in the county of Winnebago and State of Illinois, have invelited certain new and useful Imfrovement's in Fire-Alarm, of

ollowing'is-a specification.

This invention relates {to-improvements in an apparatus to be used for automatically producing or giving an alal'ifiili case of fire in one or more parts of a billldln and when deslre'd, for transmltting said 'l arm to the fire department or station thereof; and-it consists in certain peculiarities of-thecom stru'ction, novel arrangement, and operation of the various parts thereof, as will behe'r'emajtenmore fuiiy' set forth and s ecifically cla med. Y

Theprincipai ohject of the invention isto provide automatic fire alarm, which-shall be simple andinexp'ensive in construction, strong, durable and which shall be so'inade that eflicient in operation, and it may be easily installed and, when desired,

transmitted thereto and building from cate'd';

Numerous; other objects and advant'a of the invention will be disclosed in the salt-'- the location of the which the alarm isisent joined description and expianation;

In order to enable others skilled in the art to which myinventionpertains, to make and use the same, I will now proceed'to describe it, referring to the accompanying drawings,

' in which-- Figure 1 is a vicw in front elevation of the casings which holdthe operating mechanisms otthe alarm and, alarm transmitting device, showing the door of the former open and that of the latter removed; Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional view taken on line 2-2- of Fig. llooking in the direction indicated by the arrows,

but showing the doors of the casings closed;

Fig. 2 is a view in elevation of a portion oft the clock mechanism which operates the alarm transmitting drum; Fig. 3 is an en- Parged side View of the spirally grooved drum of the alarm transmitter; Fig.- i is a sectional view thereof taken on lines- 4 of Fig. 3 lookininthe direction indicated by the arrows; l ig. 5 is a face view of a tension spring and its plate used for impartingthe proper tension toithe destructible or inflam:

mahle cords used in connection with the 1 i The reference numeral may be con nected with the electric circuit ofthe fire department so that the alarm may be quickly ,caSH1g or frames may of wood and rectangular in shape,

tamed a mechanism of the Patented. Feb. 9,1909.

alarm; Fig. 6 is an enlarged longitudinal sectional viewof one of the guide tubes for the destructib'le cords; Fig. 7 is a" perspective iew partly in section of two rooms or compartments of a building, showing thealarm and transmittertherefor in position on one of the walls of one of the rooms and illustrating the manner ,ofsecuring the destructible or combustible cords to the ceilings and also showing the means for normally, holding the same taut; Fig. 8 is a; diagrammatic view'of the hell or alarm circuit; Fig. 9 is a similar view of the alarm transmitting circuit; and Fig". 10 is a side View partly in sectionand partly in elevation of a portion ofthe transmitting drum, showing the movahI-e Contact pic' m unted near the same and one of its pron s in en agement with the grooves" of said rum.-

Like numerals of reference,-'refer to corresponding parts throughout the diffrent v'lews of the drawings.

12 designates the casing or frame for the alarm" mechanism and the numeral 13 the casing or frame for the alarm trainsniittin mechanism, which he made of an suitable size, formand material, but p're erably as shown. The body of the casing 12 is provided with a central cavity 14 and has hinged to the front of one of its sides a door 15 to the outer surface of which is secured a metal plate-16 on: which is mounted an alarm belt 17 and a box'dike casing 18 in which isconordinary or any suitable kind for operatinga: clapper 19s'o as to cause it, to strike the bell- 17 and produce an alarm. Secured at one of their ends to the inner surface of the door 15 are. two contact strips 01''. plates 20 which have their free ends mturne'd as at 21 so as "to be brought into contact with two other'con'tact points or strips 22 which are secured to the frame 12 at a slight distance above the, bot tom of'the cavity 14 therein, and which pointsforstrips are electrically connected to binding posts 23 on one side of the frame 12, which posts are connected through conduc' tors- 24 with an electric battery, not shown.)

The contact strips 20 have connections 25 which ass through the door it with a air of vIoinciha post's 26 which are-connected by means of conductors 27 having a switch with a hattery, which switch and battery are not shown. The frame 12 is provided with a vertical 0 aenin 28 for the rece tion and 0 eration of an operating rod or bolt 29 which its other end against the upper surface of said cavity. ,Secured to the front portion of the block 31 is a plate 34 which has at one of its ends an outturned apcrtured porti-on35 in the aperture of which is swiveled one end of a key 36 whichis located in a vertical opening 37 extended through the top of the frame 12, and has between its ends a lug or lateral projection 38 to engage a ""rod 35) which is transversely disposed across the cavity 14 of said frame. The upper portion of the frame 12 is also provided with a vertical opening 40 for the reception of a pin or plug 41 which preferably has its lower end pointed as shown in Fig. 1 and is to be used for the purpose presently to be explained.

As shown in Figs. 1 and 2 the casing 13 for the alarm transmitting mechanism is box-like in shape and has communication through the vertical opening 28 with the cavity 14 of the casing 12, and it will also be seen by reference to said figures that. the bolt 29 terminates a slight distance above the bottom of the casing 12 which casing is provided in its front portion with an opening 28 which communicates with the vertical opening 28, thus permittingaccess to the lower portion of said opening when the door 15 is open. The front of the casing or compartment 13 is closed by means of a door 42 which may be hinged to the lower 'portion of said casin as is clearly shown in Fig. 2 of the drawings. Secured to the rear wall of the casing or compartment 13 at about its middle is a circular casing 43 in which is located a spring 44 which has one of its ends secured to a rotatable shaft 45 which extends through the outer face of the casing, and has its outer end screw-threaded to engage a socketcd projection 46 of another portion 47 of the clock mechanism casing. The other end of the spring 44 is secured to the casing 43 which latter is provided in its upper portion with an opening 48 for the reception and operation of a pin 49 which is extended through said opening and rests at one of its ends on the spring 44 and at its other end against a dog or detent 50 which is pivotally secured near one of its ends to the rear wall of the casing 13, as is clearly shown in Fig. 1 of the drawings. Pivotally secured on the intermediate plate 51 of the *asing for the clock mechanism and near the opening in the upper portion thereof is a pawl 52 which extends at its upper portion over a laterally projecting part 44 of the spring 44 (see Figs. 2 and 2 of the drawings). The lower portion of the pawl 52 is pressed by means of a spring 53 secured at one of its ends to the plate 51. Journaled near the upper portion of the pawl 52 on the plate 51 is a shaft 54 which has mounted thereon a ratchet wheel 55 to engage the pawl and also a pinion 56 to engage a gear 57 which is journaled on a shaft 58 mounted on the plate 51 near the driving-shaft. 45. Mounted on the shaft 58 is another pinion 59 which meshes with a gear (50 on the driving-shaft.

As before stated, the outer end of the drivingshaft 45 is screw-threaded and engages the socket 453 in the portion 47 of the mechanism casing, which portion has rigidly mounted thereon a drum (51 which is provided on its periphery with a spiral groove 2 in which is located and extends from one end of the groove to the other a wire 63 which has one of its ends secured to a metal. plate (54 which is fastened to the outer surface of the drum 61 by means of screws or E otherwise. Iivo. ally secured to the bottom of the casing 13 is a bar 65 which carries a metallic strip (36, which is formed at its free end with a contact point (37 to rest against the plate (54 and has its other end connected by means of a conductor (38 to a binding post 69 from which a conductor 70 may lead to the electric circuit of the fire department. The bar (1:) is provided on its outer surface with a bow-spring 71 to rest against: the door 42 when the same is closed so as to hold the point (37 in contact with the plate 4 on the drum. Secured to the inner surface of one side of the casing'13 is a metallic plate 72 which has connection through a conductor 73 with a binding post 74 secured to the bottom of the casing from which a conductor 75 may lead to a battery, as is shown in Fig. 9 of the drawings. Horizontally supported on the bottom of the easing 13 near the side thereof on which the plate 72 is secured by means of brackets 76 is a rod 77 on which is movably mounted a forked contacting piece the shorter prong 78 of which is adapted to project into the spiral groove 62 of the drum (31 while the longer prong 79 will contact with the plate 72 which is in electric connection with the binding post 74, as before stated. Mounted on each coil of the wire 63 are a series of groups of spaced apart projections 80 which extend atv their free ends to near the outer edge of the groove 62, and have on their free ends one or more spaced apart projections 81 which are adapted to contact successively with the shorter arm or prong 78 of the movable contact piece. Movably located in the lower portion of the vertical opening 28 of the frame 12 and extended through an opening in the top of the casing 13 is a bolt 82 which engages at its lower end an opening in the dog 50 and is provided at its upper end with an ad usting screw 83 to rest against the lower end. of the bolt. 29, as is evident by reference to Fig. of the drawl rom the fore oing and by referenceto the drawings, and particularlyto Figs. 1, 2 and 7 thereof, in which latterview is shown a portion of two rooms 83 of a building, it will be readily understood and clearly seen that, the casings 01' frames 12 and 13 may besecured to the wall of a room, when by connecting vthe upper portion of the operating bolt 29 to one end of a destructible or combustible cord 84, which may be suspended around the perimeter of the c'i'eiling of the room or rooms by means of screw eyes 85, or otherwise, and extended through suitable openings in the walls of the building in which may be located tubes 86, of any suitable material, and brought back a d secured at its other end to a spool 87 rotatably mounted in an opening 88 in the casing 12, which spool may-be provided with a, ratchet wheel 89 to engage a pawl 90 which is pressed into engagement withthe ratchet wheel by means of a spring 91, and which spool may be turned by any suitable means so as to wind the cord thereon. When the destructible cord is thus connected to the upper parts of the casing, it is evident that it may be made taut by turning the spool 87, but in order to maintain the cord .at aproper tension and to compensate for the contraction and expansion thereof, a compensating spring 92 secured at one of its ends to a late 93 and having at its other end a hoot 94 to engage the cordS-i, and

which plate maybe secured to the wall of a'.

room, may be employed.

When the parts are arranged as abovedescribed and as shown in ,Figs'. 2'and 7 of the drawings, it is apparent that if a fire should occur in either of'the rooms andburn or sever the cord 84 it would at once become slack and would permit the operating bolt to be forced downwardly by means of the spring -33 which surrounds the same, in which operation the block 31 carried by the bolt 129 will force the contact pieces 22 against the pieces 21, thereby establishing an electric circuit and causing the bell ringing mechanism contained in the casing 18 to operate the clapper 19 against the bell 17 and give forth an alarm. In the downward movement-of the operating bolt 29, it is evident that if the bolt 82 in the upper portion of the transmitter casing is employed it will force the dog 50 downwardly a ainst the pin 49 which will release the paw 52 from the clock mechanism and permit the same to rotate the drum 61, in which operation it will spiral groove 62 of the druinand will contact successively with the points 81 on the projections 80, which, as before stated, are mounted on the wire 63 of the drum. As the projections 80 are spaced apart, and as the electric circuit to the fire-department circuit will be completed each time the contact prong 78 comes in contact with the points 81, itis apparent that the electric impulses" will be transmitted to the fire department 95and the location of the fire indicated at said point, for it will be understood that a number of projections 80 having a predetermined number of points 81 to correspond with the number of a block of houses registered at the fire department may be employed, for instance, in the present. case, by reference to Fig. 4 it will be seen, that the projections 80 are arranged in groups of three each, and that one of said projections has one point,-the next one three and the another interva will strike the projection having four points thereon, thus indicating ,that the fire is located in block number 134.

As the, drum rotates further, itis apparent that this number Will be repeated a number of times.-

82 may be removed, when it is apparent that the alarm will be operated as above described, or if it should be desired, the bolt 82 may be allowed to remain in its position and the screw'83 removed, when by removing the pin 41 from the top of the casing 12 and inserting it through the opening 28 (see Fig. 2) into the opening 28 and pressing down on the bolt 82, the alarm may be transmitted in this way to the fire department or station.

As the key 36 is swiveled to the block 31, it is apparent that by raising the parts to the positions shown in Figs. 1 and 2 and turning the key so that the projection 38 thereon will engage the transverse rod 39 the circuit will be broken and the alarm rendered inoperative so that the cords maybe removed from the ceiling to permit cleaning thereof, or may be adjusted without giving an alarm.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. A fire alarm and alarm mechanism con-' sisting of a suitably supported alarm frame or casing and a transmitter frame or casing, an electrically operated alarm mechanism mounted on the alarm casing, an operating 1 of pointed projections mounted on the conbolt movably mounted on said casing and exductor within the spiral groove, a forked contact movably mounted within the transmitter casing and having one of 1ts arms extended into the groove of the drum, the

movably mounted contact having electric connection, and means within the alarm frame or casing to complete the electric circuit by the inward movement ofthe operating bolt.

2. A fire alarm consisting of a suitably supported .frame or casing, an" electrically operated alarm mechanism mountedthereon and having inwardly extending contact points, inwardly extending yielding contact points mounted on the rear portion of the casing and having electric connections, a spring-actuated operating bolt movably mounted on the casing and extended at one of its ends into the same, a block-mounted on said bolt near the rear contact points,,and a tautly supported cord connected to the operating bolt to normally hold it in its-retracted position.

' 3. A fire alarm consisting of a suitably supported frame or casing, an electrically operated alarm mechanism mounted thereon, an operating bolt movably mounted'on "the casing and extended at one of its ends into the same, a ratcheted spool journaled inthe casing, a spring-pressed pawl to engage said ratchet, a cord connected at one of its ends to the operating bolt and at its other end to said spool, means to supportthe 'cord, and means within the casing toclose the electric circuit by the inward movement of said bolt.

4. 'A fire alarm consisting of a suitably supported frame or casing, an electrically operated alarm mechanism mounted thereon, an operating bolt movably mounted-on the casing and extended at one of its ends into the same, a key movably mounted on the casing and in loose connection at one of its ends with, said bolt and provided between its ends with a projection, a rod transversely secured on the casing and adapted to be engaged by said projection, a cord connected to the operating bolt and tautly supported, and means within the casing to close the electric circuit bv the inward movement of said bolt.

5. A 'fire alarm consisting of a suitably supported frame or casing, an electrically operated alarm mechanism mounted thereon, an operating bolt movably mounted on the casing and extended at one of its ends into the same, a key movably mounted on the easing and in loose connection at one of its ends with said bolt and provided between its ends with a projection, means mounted on the easing and adapted to be engaged by said projection, a ratchetcd spool journaled on the casing, a spring-pressed pawl to engage said ratchet, a cord connected at one of its ends to the operating bolt and at its other end to said spool and suitably supported, and means within the casing to close the electric circuit by the inward movement of said bolt. 6. Ina fire alarm, the combination with a suitably supported alarm casing or frame, of an electrically operated alarm mechanism mounted thereon, an operating bolt movably mounted onthe casing and extended at one of its ends into the same, means within the casing to close-the electric'circuit by the inward movement of said bolt, a transmitter -frame or casing mounted near the alarm casing, a spirally grooved drum rotatably mounted in the transmitter casing, a conductor located in the spiral'groove of the drum and extending from one end to the other thereof and having at one of its ends an electric connection, a series of pointed projections mounted on the conductor in'the said groove, a forked contact piece movably mounted within the transmitter casing and having one of its prongs extended into the groove of the drum, electric connections uniting said movable piece with a battery, a driving mechanism to rotate the drum, and connections betweeirthe driving mechanism and inner portion of the operating bolt to set said mechanism in operation by the inward movement of said connections.

VERNEB. KALL.

Witnesses:

CARL SAMUELSEN, I JOHN Or'ro PETERSON. 

